[lbo-talk] UK: Home of DIY dentistry

[Julian Gollop]

I did read a report somewhere which showed that US dental health was in
general worse than the UK. I can certainly vouch for UK dentistry as it
was - it did the basics very well. The present crisis in UK dentistry is a
shame - it's all Blair's fault anyhow. And I can't be the only one who
thinks the US obsession with perma-tans and blinding white choppers makes
people look disturbingly unreal.

Andy F - I'd just like some more quantitative means of saying that the UK
has a
dentistry crisis.  As somebody pointed out, it's kind of curious that
the story appears the day after a large normalized study indicating
that Brits are healthier than Yanks, plus it plays into the usual
prejudices that the US has it the best in the world.
Here is the BBC report on the study:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4965034.stm

Andy F -  Be happy you're
not stuck with a sclerotic economy and low European standard of living
and all that.

Since I moved from the UK to Bulgaria (just about the poorest country in
Europe) I can appreciate why the concept of 'standard of living' (as it is
usually measured) is complete nonsense. The only problem here now, with
rampant capitalism, is that as the economy 'grows' many people are becoming
poorer.

Julian.